LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

BUSINESS ENGLISH VI

FIRST TERM EXAM

NAME: Maria Camila Sanchez Herrera

DATE: 03/09/20

I. Reading (20 points)

Read the following article

In Chile, they prefer tea to coffee and instant rather than freshly brewed . In Argentina, by
contrast, breakfast is with a frothy capuccino, a heart-starting espresso, or a caffe latte. In
Brazil, after-dinner coffee is served free at any self-respecting restaurant. That Latin
America is not one great homogeneous culture often surprises travellers. However, even
the most subtle differences in the consumer profile of a Colombian and a Venezuelan will
not have been lost on Starbucks, one of the fastest-growng global brands. After searches
for local partners, and a successful trial run in Mexico City, Starbucks arrived in South
America. With no conventional advertising, the Seattle-based company opened stores in
Lima and Santiago within 24 hours of each other. Neither Peru nor Chile has a mass-
market cafe culture, although European and US-style coffee houses have been springing
up in the upmarket districts of both capitals. Despite this cultural peculiarity, a Starbucks
survey found that Chileans on average drink only 150 cups of coffee a year, compared
with 345 in the US and more than twice that number in many European countries. Of the
800g. of coffee per capita bought in supermarkets and from speciality shops each year, 90
% of it is instant. In Argentina, per capita consumption is about 4kg a year, mostly in whole
or ground coffee beans. Despite being a coffee-grower, Peru has a similar pattern of
coffee consumption. The irony is not lost on Hulio Gutierrez, head of Latin America at
Starbucks Coffee International. "We've been doing business in Latin America for decades,"
he says. "We haven't had any stores but we've been buying Latin American coffee since
the beginning. Expansion will depend entirely on how long it takes to find the right partner
in each of those countries. If we don't find anyone, we may think about going in ourselves"
Anyone who knows the Starbucks story can already visualise potential outlets in the most
fashionable neighborhoods of the region's capital cities. From a single store in Seattle's
Pike Place Market in 1971, Starbucks today owns 3907 stores in North America and
licences a further 1378. They also own 437 and franchise 1180 outlets in the rest of the
world. It first expaned from its home market to Japan in 1996 and is now present in more
than 30 countries. Last year alone, the Starbucks' living-room-in-a-coffee-house format
was introduced to Mexico, Germany, Spain, Austria, Puerto Rico, Greece, Oman,
Indonesia and China. Starbucks "corners", or mini-outlets, are found in airline offices,
sports stadiums, airports, hotels and bookshops. Copy-cat coffee-bar chains have
emerged , only to be swallowed by Starbucks or forced to merge with competitors. Fortune
and fame, however, have not come without their critics. Some analysts say the company
was forced to globalise because it had saturated its home market. Others say the
Japanese experience has not been a happy one. Security concerns forced the company to
retreat from Israel, and the anti-globalisation movement now has Starbucks stores on its
hit list. In aspiring societies such as Chile and Mexico, American companies are generally
well-regarded and any novelty from abroad is guaranteed to arouse curiosity. Both the
Lima and Santiago Starbucks stores have been packed since opening their doors, and the
company has rolled out 15 stores in Mexico City since launching its first - cleverly located
beside the US embassy - a year ago. Roman Perez-Miranda, head of Latin America for
Interbrand, agrees. "Mexico is the closest Latin America gets to the US, both
geographically and culturally. It was an obvious starting point for Starbucks in the region."
Taken from: https://lingualeo.com/es/jungle/coffee-culture-comes-to-coffee-growers-158842

Answer these questions

a. Where and when did Starbucks begin?

Seattle place Market, 1971.
b. How many stores does it allow others to operate in a) North America b) the
rest of the world?
In North America there are 3,907 stores, and the rest of the world is 1,180.
c. Which overseas market did Starbucks enter first?
first entry in Japan, 1996.
d. In what sort of places can you find Starbucks’ sales- points?
they can be found in airports, hotels, airlines, etc.
e. According to the article what four problems has Starbucks had?
1. the company was forced to go global because it had saturated its local
market.
2. others say the Japanese experience has not been a happy one.
3. Security concerns forced the company to withdraw from Israel, and the
anti-globalization movement.
4. you now have Starbuks stores on your target list.

II. WRITING (30 points)

Describe the problems that a foreign producer of the following products might
have in trying to market their goods in your country a) Luxury cars,
b)shampoos. C)breakfast cereals (120+ words)

 Instructions: the student follows the instructions given. (5 points)

 Mechanics: Spelling rules (according to their level) are taken into account
and the use of punctuation is adequate. (5 points)
 Use of language: The use of structures and their lexical resources are
appropriate for their level. (10 points)
Problem Cars: The problem with trying to market cars in our country is
because in Colombia there are plants such as Chevrolet or Renault that receive
auto parts from other countries, with which the vehicles are assembled.

The other option for the major vehicle brands is to send them ready, which is
cheaper than assembling or producing them here.

Problem shampoo: One of the biggest problems with marketing shampoo in

Colombia is that the cosmetics and grooming products sector is not growing at
a great rate, since there is too much competition with this, however people work
to adapt to the new requirements of the market and the consumer.

There is increasing competition, with companies that have several channels

that are competing for their growth space, so it would not be viable to
commercialize these products.

Breakfast cereals: Cereals in Colombia are of great importance for the

consumption of its inhabitants, since that these represent a primary food and at
the same time are the raw material for many other foods that are part of the
family basket of Colombians. By For this reason, the cereal sector has a great
impact on food security of the country, in addition to influencing the welfare of
producers and consumers end. One of the biggest problems would be that
despite its importance, this sector has major structural problems that allow their
growth and that, on the contrary, they stagnate in insufficient production even to
meet domestic demand.